Moon ride

. Eugene Cernan walks away from his lunar rover at the edge of the lunar highlands during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Sculptured, rolling hills are present in the background, and the South Massif is at the far right. The mountains of the Moon have smooth, rounded contours, primarily because there has been no water or ice erosion to sculpt them into steep peaks and valleys. The astronauts used roving vehicles like this one to travel across the Moon's rugged terrain, gathering rocks from a wide variety of locations. The rovers were left on the Moon. Free from wind, rain and rust, they will remain intact for millions of years; one might even imaging a returning astronaut using one that was discarded hundreds of years before. (Courtesy of NASA.)